Grasslands are covered with
grasses, sedges, and wildflowers and have less than 10 percent of their
area covered by woody species. They include managed landscapes, such as
parks, golf courses and cemeteries, pasture and fallow fields as well
as natural habitats such as prairies, meadows and fens. The habitat value
of these lands varies tremendously; old, neglected cemeteries often function
as refugia for prairie plants, and fallow fields may have considerable
habitat value for wildlife, but the mowed lawns of parks and golf courses
have little to offer.

Native grassland communities such
as lakeplain prairie are among the region’s rarest, and are considered
globally imperiled. Historically, Wayne, Macomb and St. Clair Counties
had over 60,000 acres (24,281 hectares) of lakeplain prairie. Today, less
than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) remain in Wayne and St. Clair Counties.
In Ontario, similar losses have occurred, with less than 1 percent of
the original prairie cover remaining. Lakeplain mesic sand prairie is
the upland form of this grassland community but there are also two wetland
forms - lakeplain
wet prairie and lakeplain
wet mesic prairie. Another similarly related habitat,
lakeplain oak opening, is considered an upland deciduous forest community.
These grassland communities provide habitat for Henslow’s
sparrow and tall
green milkweed.

While a few rare species can only
survive in native grasslands, many others can persist in a wider range
of grassland types. Ring-necked pheasants, for example, are surprisingly
common in the unmowed vacant lots of Detroit. With the decline in agriculture
in the area, however, cultural grasslands such as hayfields and pastures
are disappearing rapidly. Grassland quality is not the only factor affecting
habitat suitability; for many vulnerable species, area is a critical factor.
Species such as bobolink, savanna sparrow, Henslow’s
sparrow and upland sandpiper are most likely to occur on parcels larger
than 140 acres (57 hectares). In a fragmented landscape, these parcels
are increasingly rare, and will not persist without deliberate planning.

Within the project area, grassland
has increased from about 54,500 acres (22,055 hectares) in 1995 to about
58,000 acres (23,471 hectares) in 2000, an increase of 7.1 percent. The
majority of this increase is due to agricultural fields that have been
taken out of cultivation.